Motional Dynamical Decoupling for Matter-Wave Interferometry

Abstract

Matter-wave interferometry provides a remarkably sensitive tool for probing minute forces and, potentially, the foundations of quantum physics by making use of interference between spatially separated matter waves. Furthering this development requires ever-increasing stability of the interferometer, typically achieved by improving its physical isolation from the environment. Here we introduce as an alternative strategy the concept of dynamical decoupling applied to spatial degrees of freedom of massive objects. We show that the superposed matter waves can be driven along paths in space that render their superposition resilient to many important sources of noise. As a concrete implementation, we present the case of matter-wave interferometers in a magnetic field gradient based on either levitated or free-falling nanodiamonds hosting a color center. We present an in-depth analysis of potential sources of decoherence in such a setup and of the ability of our protocol to suppress them. These effects include gravitational forces, interactions of the net magnetic and dipole moments of the diamond with magnetic and electric fields, surface dangling bonds, rotational degrees of freedom, Casimir-Polder forces, and diamagnetic forces. Contrary to previous analyses, diamagnetic forces are not negligible in this type of interferometers and, if not acted upon lead to small separation distances that scale with the inverse of the magnetic field gradient. We show that our motional dynamical decoupling strategy renders the system immune to such limitations while continuing to protect its coherence from environmental influences, achieving a linear-in-time growth of the separation distance independent of the magnetic field gradient. Hence, motional dynamical decoupling may become an essential tool in driving the sensitivity of matter-wave interferometry to the next level.